Limited supply and increasing demand of fossil energy resources and associated global environmental damage have driven global efforts to diversify utilization energy resources and related technologies. One such resource is solar energy, which employs photovoltaic (PV) technology for conversion of light into electricity. In addition, solar energy can be exploited for heat generation (e.g., in solar furnaces, steam generators, and the like). Solar technology is typically implemented in a series of PV cells, or solar cells, or panels thereof that receive sunlight and convert the sunlight into electricity, which can be subsequently delivered into a power grid. Significant progress has been achieved in design and production of solar panels, which has effectively increased efficiency while reducing manufacturing cost thereof. As more highly efficient solar cells are developed, size of the cell is decreasing leading to an increase in the practicality of employing solar panels to provide a competitive renewable energy substitute to dwindling and highly demanded non-renewable sources. To this end, solar energy collection systems like solar concentrators can be deployed to convert solar energy into electricity which can be delivered to power grids, and to harvest heat as well.
Parabolic reflectors are typically utilized to achieve light concentration. To produce electricity or heat, parabolic reflectors typically focus light into a focal area, or locus, which can be localized (e.g., a focal point) or extended (e.g., a focal line). Most reflector designs, however, posses substantial structural complexity that hinders mass producibility and ease of assembly of the design into a solar collector for energy conversion. Moreover, structural complexity generally complicates alignment of reflective elements (e.g., mirrors) as well as installation and maintenance or service of deployed concentrators.